E3 Preview
2005
It was a little more than 40 years
ago when Reed Richards, Ben Grimm, Sue and Johnny Storm took a fateful journey
into outer space and were bombarded with life-changing cosmic rays.
Thus were born the Fantastic Four, a
unique team of superheroes with diverse skills that work amazingly well
together. Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s creations have been one of pop culture’s
endearing teams, and the comic books have been translated into 11 languages
around the world.
There is a movie coming out this
summer featuring the F4, but let’s make something clear immediately – the
Activision Fantastic Four videogame is not based off the movie, and vice versa.
The game is much more expansive, and the level of action is much broader.
There are also a host of characters
appearing in the game that will not be in the movie.
Activision held a pre-E3 event in
Santa Monica recently, and the star of the evening was an all-too brief glimpse
at the upcoming game.
As you are aware, if you follow the
series, the FF team has diverse talents – Ben, as The Thing, is the consummate
tank, with Sue using force fields and telepathic knock-backs, Johnny’s Torch
(flame on!) capable of erecting impassable fire walls, as well as doing some
pretty nasty damage, and Reed (as Mr. Fantastic) able to bend, stretch and
shape-shift is body into a variety of forms. Couple all that with the ability to
switch dynamically between characters at any time, destructible environments and
the between 30-40 moves per character and you have a lot of room for deep fun.
The goal, purportedly, is to find a
way to change Ben back to human form, to find the source of the cosmic rays. But
there are a host of villains and other “bad” guys in the way. Because the game
does allow for co-op play, gamers will be able to play the entire game
cooperatively. And avatars are upgradeable as they level.
About half of the major characters
from the Fantastic Four universe make an appearance in this game, including Dr.
Doom, the Puppet Master, Nick Fury and Diablo. There is even a rumor that
Charles Xavier’s bunch may drop in as well.
This is a game that is a real treat
for the eyes. The action can be intense and players may have to rely on certain
team members to solve specific puzzles, and engage certain enemies.
The gameplay was merely tantalizing,
immersing players into a universe that is dynamic and full of eye-popping
combat. This is a game that will be absolutely worth looking for.
Expect Fantastic Four to release in
mid-June on the GameBoy Advance, GameCube, Xbox and PlayStation 2 console
systems.
